(1) Field of the Invention
This invention is in the field of cased telescoped ammunition rounds, and more particularly relates to improvements to cased telescoped ammunition rounds with a full caliber control tube in which the projectiles are fin stabilized subcaliber penetrators, with the penetrator of each round being provided with a sabot which separates from the projectile as the projectile and sabot exit the barrel of the gun from which fired.
(2) Description of Related Art
A cased telescoped ammunition in which the projectile is completely enclosed, or telescoped, within the cartridge case, reduces the volume and weight of gun systems firing cased telescoped ammunition. The cylindrical shape of cased telescoped cartridges allows for a simpler more reliable and more compact gun system with a higher rate of fire compared with equivalent gun systems using conventionally shaped rounds.
Because of the advantages derived from using cased telescoped ammunition rounds, particularly rounds in which the projectile is a fin stabilized kinetic energy armor penetrating projectile, or penetrator, such rounds are commonly used in vehicle mounted gun systems to attack armored vehicles, fixed fortifications, and the like. An example of such a round is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,858,533 to Warren, which teaches a cased telescoped ammunition round with a full caliber control tube each end of which is respectively connected to the front and rear seals of the cylindrical casing of the round with a fin stabilized penetrator and its sabot positioned within the control tube prior to firing.
Since the dimensions of the casings of cased telescoped ammunition rounds fired by a given type gun system are fixed, then when the dimensions of the projectile and control tube are determined, the space available within the casing to be occupied by propellant is also fixed. To maximize the performance of a projectile there is a need to maximize the amount of propellant contained within each round by increasing the space available for propellant without reducing the reliability of the gun system while maintaining consistent performance of each round as fired.